Lighthouse of the Week, March 19-25: White River, Michigan

I decided to look up a good old-fashioned Great Lakes lighthouse this week, and it didn't take long to find the cute White River Light Station, near Ludington, Michigan.

The West Michigan Lighthouses Web site has a page about this one:

White River Light Station

And this is from Lighthouse Friends:
White River, MI

Here's a historical excerpt:

"When completed, the lighthouse consisted of a tower set in the northwest corner of a gabled-roof, one-and-half-story dwelling. Limestone was used for the foundation and yellow brick for the superstructure. Though square at its base, the tower’s corners are beveled mid-way up to create an octagonal form. Work on the lighthouse wrapped up on December 28, 1875, and the following April, Mr. Crump, the district lampist, arrived to install a fourth-order Fresnel lens in the lantern room. Keeper Robinson activated the new light, whose characteristic was a fixed white light, varied every minute by a red flash, on May 13, 1876. The period of the flash was reduced to forty seconds on December 12, 1892, through the fitting of another flash panel to the lens, and then in 1902, the light’s characteristic was changed to alternate red and white flashes, with twenty seconds between each flash."

And here's some pictures, including the original lens in the museum:

And I have to note this amazing shot from Joe Gee Photography, of the lighthouse with an aurora on the horizon.